Hi everyone!
Today I want to talk about Exit Festival which was one of the best European festivals and I said "was" because some things have changed in last few years.

The festival started in 2000 and it lasted for 100 days. It had political background and it was free. The end of the festival was 2 days before Slobodan Milosevic lost elections in Serbia and the message of the festival was "IT'S OVER". This first event called Zero Exit was happening in front of the Faculty of Philosophy and along the left coast of Danube.

Next year festival was moved to the beautiful medieval Petrovaradin Fortress and it stayed there for all these years. Until 2013 it was 4 days festival and that was the first year with "Zero Day" which have continued.

The idea was to celebrate the departure of Slobodan Milosevic, the freedom and reconnecting with the world.

Nearly all big names in music performed on one of the stages on Exit . It was the place where you can come and listen to good bands until 1am-2am and then go to the famous Dance Arena and listen to the DJs but in last few years it is everything about money and DJs.

I remember Exit 2015 when a friend of mine bought her very first but one night ticket. I wanted to show her all the stages and as we were walking from stage to stage I realized everything died. The only stages alive were Main Stage (now with mostly crappy commercial performers), Dance Arena and maybe Trance stage just because it is small and the only place on the fortress where you can hear that kind of music. That was the first time when I truly decided not to go on Exit anymore.

I was thinking how I am not the part of that and maybe it is just time to quit and leave to different people more air and space because most of them seemed like having fun. I wanted to keep the festival like amazing memory with lots of underground performers and I skipped last year.

This year I had opportunity to work as a bartender with my friends on new Cockta Stage and that was the only reason I went on Exit.

During the Zero night only Main Stage, Dance Arena and No Sleep Stage were working and I had free night so I have decided to go and listen to Jeff Mills. What a mistake! The audience, the atmosphere, the music - everything was in disharmony and colored just and only by ecstasy and speed.

After only 10 minutes, I couldn't stand listening and watching that anymore and @devlasimir told me how a awesome DJ woman is performing on vinyls on No Sleep Stage. She was the rescuer of the night - Jane Fitz.

https://soundcloud.com/janefitz

The way she communicates and how she feels the crowd, the way she acts on stage, how neutral she is and how the only important thing is the music - I was amazed by all that as the most of the people (maximum 200) on small No Sleep Stage.

I went home happy and I hoped that I will discover something that good in next 4 days and that I will hear at least 3,4 good foreign bands.

What I saw while working

I felt my hopes will be broken in few hours of working on the fortress. Working there gave me more complete image about the festival and more reasons why not to visit it anymore.

1. Only small amount of the water for employees

Most of us were working from 8pm until 6am or 7am and all we had is 1,5l of water. No food, no other drinks and our payout is in September which means working on Exit was just a cost for most of us in that moment. Later on, I found out that this bad treatment started in last 4,5 years.

2. No trash cans

People were begging us to give them a trash can as the only ones were behind the bars. I couldn't believe that no one from the organization was thinking about the environment. That big event without place to put off the trash - it's horrible.

For me it was double more job when someone brings me their trash but I was happy seeing people think about it.

3. No strong alcohol drinks, terrible beer and what is left?

From year to year it seems like the festival organization is promoting drugs more and more. A lot of people were offering us big amounts of money for rakija, vodka or whiskey and I would do it, not because of money but more as a rebellious act but I could not bring it in for myself.

This lack of good alcohol ended with a lot of seriously drugged people. Last night of the festival some dirty drugs got into the Exit and a lot of people felt sick. It was obvious that really bad drugs were all around. A lot of young people were just falling down. Next morning a woman was found dead, just across the bridge on the other side of Danube. It was an overdose.

4. Do performers take Exit as a serious festival?

During all 4 nights we could make a pause for a performance we want to hear and I really tried to pick the best and I was still disappointed. I don't know was it just the moment or even artists see the festival as easy money and they go with the thought: "Give them what people on ecstasy like."

That is left to be seen but one is sure: I won't be the one writing about it or watching it.